I turn now to dwell on THE NATURAL EFFECTS OF WAITING ON THE LORD, as stated by the prophet, and vouched for by myriads of the faithful and devout in all ages.1. Horton, D. D."Change their strength" (marg.). 1 Father, I long, I faint to see The place of thine abode, I'd leave thy earthly courts and flee Up to thy seat, my God! The fact is, men are led to think they are going to conquer the whole land in five minutes, and imagine they are going to realise their ideal before they are five-and-twenty; and when they find that the nearer they ought to be getting to their ideal the farther it recedes into the distance, they are discouraged, and, out of sheer despair of ever reaching their ideal, they give it up, and laugh at those who try to pursue it. This is what we all need in this weary world, whose toils and cares and temptations perpetually remind us of our weakness and the need of invigorating grace. There, throughout, we find the Divine life in man described as a "walk." He receives strength to confess his sins to the God of truth from the hope of pardon founded on God's merciful promise.2. But, further. H. Those who have not eagle's wings still have some power of motion, they can run on the earth and in the path of God's commandments. In common daily duty we are to run in the ways of God's commandments; but the word is more frequently employed to denote some direct obedience to some special command. Thomas, D. D.I. That their devotions shall become more elevated and intense. He mounted up on eagle's wings to meet the down-coming Spirit of the Father. SPIRITUAL STRENGTH, HOW IS IT TO BE OBTAINED? Spiritual strength especially consists in that exercise of faith called trust or confidence. How is this renewing influence, then, to be obtained? )Waiting upon GodAndrew Murray.One brother in the ministry asked me, "Is there not a danger of too great passivity?" (3) But the essence of spiritual strength resides in the will A fixed purpose is that which more clearly characterise the genuine Christian than anything else. By the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, faith, love, and hope are brought into lively exercise; and these are as pinions to the soul. EXODUS XV. To walk we want something like continuous, sustained evenness of conduct, progressing quietly and steadily day by day in the common round of life; not impulsive, not capricious, not changeable; without show, humble, and always the same. Waiting on the Lord implies 1. Read full chapter. )The strength of believers, and the renewing of itW. This large world, the spiritual, into which Isaiah has ushered us, includes all worlds, for it is as limitless as its Ruler. --The Setting up of Idols a Defection from the True God. (1) The delay of answering our prayers (Luke 18:1). In many circumstances we require the protection and assistance of our fellow-creatures, but in all circumstances we require the protection and assistance of our Creator. The prophet's imagery is startling, and some critics would presume to call his figures somewhat mixed; but the thought conveyed is clear. That is His great legacy to the Church. And when He Calls us home, He who sits upon the circle of the heavens, and sees all the sorrow of this world as you and I can never see it, bids us "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." These are all comprehended in one expression, "waiting on the Lord."III. There is a double kind of change to be observed.1. THE DEMONSTRATION OR CONFIRMATION OF THIS. It is the daily walk along the beaten path that reveals the depth and sincerity of our religion. His power is vast and unbounded, and nothing is too hard for Him. The whole point is there. I remember a sunset at sea, where the bosom of each wavelet that fronted the west was aglow with fiery gold, and the back of each turned eastward was cold green; so that, looking on the one hand all was glory, and on the other Alexander MaclarenExpositions of Holy ScriptureSalvation Published from the MountainsO Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid: say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! "Mount up with wings as eagles, run, walk," and one might almost dare to add a fourth "stand still!"(F. L. Wiseman, B. A.We are constantly being exhorted to-day by good and earnest men to set a high ideal before us. F. W. H. MYERS. He never is weary. Our deepest affections are stirred when we are told that redemption was made in love. L. Cuyler, D. D.This passage has the ring of an Alpine horn. H. Anderson.I. You know who wrote that, and how true to the experience of a Christian is his picture. Forgetting the things that are behind, etc.2. Energy properly appertains to the will; indeed, it is nothing else but strong will; and where this exists there will be active exertion. God seems to observe in spiritual things a similar order to that which exists in natural things. (2) The affections. There is the soaring Godward, and there is the common drudgery of daily walk and conversation, the practical common life.(T. In the power to endure it. A collected frame of mind.3. Which God Do You Want? 1The ConsolationComfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. There are various reasons why we should constantly apply to God for a renewal of our spiritual strength. In faith. It is when all the romance is past, when all the effervescence of youth has subsided, when all incitements from without and all excitements from within are over, when life has settled into its groove, and, surrounded by the monotonous and the sordid, we find our horizon limited by "the daily round" and "the common task" it is then that faith rises to its true heroism, enabling us to maintain our spiritual level and hold our ground against the deadening inroads of formality and in. It is like a banquet spread before one who has no appetite or whose habitual food is altogether different, or like a rich and perfect performance of music to one who is altogether destitute of any musical sense.II. Horton, D. D."Change their strength" (marg.). (1) The eagle is an emblem of strength renewed (Psalm 103:5). HOW SHOULD SPIRITUAL STRENGTH BE EXHIBITED?1. This seems to say that the life of communion with God is not a long series of vapid and unemotional hours, a dead level of mechanical and spiritless employments, but a life that has rare and glorious experiences, holy aspirations, ennobling thoughts, ecstatic emotions, spirit-stirring hopes.1. This mood comes at the beginning, and not at the end of our career. If we take the running of the text to mean the rendering of active public service to God, and the walking to mean steadfast advance in character, the Christian requires the strength needed for both in the approach to God. To maintain a quiet sustained walk, day by day, in the common things of life, in the house and out of the house, not impulsive, not capricious, not changeable, that is the hardest thing to do. THE CONDITION of all this. V. "Wilt thou not revive us, O Lord?" It is that spiritual vigour of mind by which sin is overcome.2. In untiring activity in the direct service of God. Clear and comprehensive views of the truth of God. THE HOPES THAT ARE BASED ON FAITH GIVE STRENGTH TO LIVE FOR GOD. We are not exhorted to be strong in ourselves, but "in the Lord, and in the power of His might." What a cheering revelation: "Your God!" The excellency of dignity and the excellency of strength go both together, and he that falls from the one does, with Reuben, fall also from the other. It is far easier for some of us to run than to walk. He knows what He is doing. There is no weariness in love.(D. Now, among men the same thing happens. Here is speciality. Because they are human.2. One man's desires, and therefore his hopes, will go forth in the direction of the pleasures of sense. The more alert and bold a youth will be, the more certainly he will at some time overtask his strength. It has already conquered half the world, and controls the whole. L. Wiseman, B. And who did it? This is the religion of the Bible: is it not a noble thing? A. (Evan H. Hopkins, B. He who looks only at the burden of the world, and only sees its sorrow and shame, has not got to the last analysis of its meaning; he has not touched the Rock, is floundering in the mud. (c)The vehemency of desire to the thing itself which we run for. 25-29). You are to wait for supplies. Once more, the Christian is prompted to strenuous and persevering action by the appeal made to his desires. I have often gone to Saratoga, in the heat of the early summer, quite run down, and my vitality burned out as coal gets exhausted in the bunkers of a steamer. Next comes up out of the Exile the more definitely shaped and clearly conceived image of the Anointed of the Lord, the Daysman or Mediator, the Lord our Righteousness, the Herald of a New Covenant, the suffering and conquering Servant of God, who is to realise the ideal Jerusalem, and bring a new heaven and a new earth. It seemed useless to pray further. 9. "(1) Thus moved, the believer strives above all things, and in all things, after perfect likeness to his Saviour in personal character. He would exhaust his strength if he continued working. To those who live in this spirit is given AN EXCEEDING GREAT AND PRECIOUS PROMISE. Exuberance of holy feeling is not a thing to be manufactured. They shall "mount up," etc.(J. HOW ARE WE TO RENEW OUR STRENGTH? For those of you who are very strong, always able to cope and handle every situation. 11 O God, a world of empty show, Dark wilds of restless, fruitless quest Lie round me wheresoe'er I go: Within, with Thee, is rest. Halsey. The Philistines were utterly unable to find out in what the amazing strength of Samson consisted, until he revealed it to his espoused wife. Home-Life--Preparing for his Life-Work--The Vow of Separation--A Child of the Desert Zacharias and Elisabeth had probably almost ceased to pray for a child, or to urge the matter. We have hills to climb and waters to ford, and what we call the commonplaces of life to attend to. THE INTERESTING EFFECTS OF ITS BRING SO RENOVATED OR INCREASED. "They shall mount up with wings as eagles," is God's preliminary; for the next promise is, "They shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." I took a great deal away. H. Anderson.I. L. Wiseman, B. A.The knapsack that galls and oppresses the novice at mountain climbing is borne without fatigue by the guide who is accustomed to it. Even when He hides His face (Isaiah 8:17). know what it is to mount up. This sounds as if they were in danger of becoming weary and faint in their minds. The guiding God: or the picture of the leading. L. Wiseman, B. "The joy of the Lord is your strength.". --ISAIAH xl. RENEWAL OF STRENGTH MEANS A RENEWAL OF ACTIVITY. (1) The first typifies lofty aspiration and heroic action. Back to Chuck Smith's Bio & Resources "GOD'S STRENGTH" Intro: Isaiah called miniature Bible, 66 chapters, 66 books. "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint." When, in like manner, the spiritual strength of the Christian is impaired, and he is ready to sink under.the pressure of temptation or distress; when his consolations appear to be nearly exhausted; or when, through the prevalence of remaining unbelief and corruption, he becomes languid in duty, or faint under affliction his decays of strength are recruited from above; new fountains are opened for his comfort; he rises as from the ground, on which he was sitting in feebleness and sorrow, and no longer with faltering, but with firm and steady steps, pursues the course of active duty, or of patient suffering, in which he is appointed to move. HOW ARE WE TO RENEW OUR STRENGTH? I brought but little there. As bodily health is only found in a well-balanced and healthy state of the corporeal functions, so spiritual strength can only be found in souls into which new life has been infused, and is in vigorous exercise. THE MANNER IN WHICH WE ARE TO WAIT UPON GOD.1. The strength spoken of is a moral, or more properly a spiritual quality. But it is possible to rise by another kind of power. As their work and their difficulty are renewed, so shall the vigour of their souls be renewed. Funny how we get thrilled when a football game goes into overtime, but we. Alexander, D. D.)Condition and conductEvan H. Hopkins, B. A.Every river needs a channel; and the wider and deeper the channel the fuller and more copious the stream, provided the waters are inexhaustible. 2. How shall we avoid it? Such strength of rising as this can only come by closest communion with God. Unclouded sunshine.III. 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